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San Francisco, 5:46 PM
Fri Nov 27
19 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/08/09
So, a documentary, then? #jennifersbody
11/04/09
11/04/09
The movies that have been surprise successes this year - District 9, Zombieland, Paranormal Activity, even Where The Wild Things Are - have one thing in common: pitch-perfect trailers. I agree that the material for jennifer's Body did not make me want to see it. But I don't know if selling it as Heathers with gore would have been any better. You can't make a cult movie on purpose, #jennifersbody
11/04/09
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11/04/09
Pretty sure I enjoyed it more than I'd like this movie, though. #jennifersbody
11/04/09
11/04/09
"Jennifer's Body" is not smart. Not at all. It's plot is contrived and boring, the character interactions are bland, and many scenes are random and uninteresting. It's not weird either, in fact it's all pretty much stuff we've seen in one way or another combined with "Diablo Cody's" annoying way of writing banter.
Jennifer's Body is a failure because it is a bad movie, no amount of proper marketing would have changed that. #jennifersbody
11/04/09
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11/05/09
Reading this post made me think of the 2003 movie May, one of my favorite examples of what one might call "alt-horror." (JB seems to fit in that category as well.) A well-made, well-acted, smart little horror flick (with subtext!) that grossed...$150,000. By that measure, a $16m take doesn't seem so awful.
I just don't know that JB necessarily should have done better than it did. I mean, any more so than any number of awesome movies that don't become sleeper hits. From what I'm seeing, more than a few people who like the kind of movie JB is, didn't like JB, so maybe it was a perfectly OK movie that just didn't achieve the critical mass of word of mouth or reviews to become a mainstream hit or cult darling. As another commenter pointed out, you can't manufacture a cult movie. #jennifersbody
11/05/09
B-Movies don't become cult hits because they have good concepts or good plots. It's all about the moments and the execution, which Jennifer's Body just couldn't deliver.
@Wookie1972: Go for it, although I only did it because I don't like pen names that were made for catching attention, which is contrary to the actual purpose of pen names which were to hide or obscure identities.
I think "Diablo Cody" CAN write good films, if a bit annoying due to dialogue, but, like any starting writer, it needs to have at least some personal investment, whether it's based on things you've done or you truly believe in the concept because you love it. This is why "Juno" worked, because it was probably at least partially drawn from the writer's own experiences. "Jennifer's Body"'s writing just reeked of "okay, I just crapped this out, who cares how it flows or if a scene is necessary or not, here ya go" attitude.
11/04/09
11/04/09
Does the name of the day end in "y"? #jennifersbody
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11/04/09
"If the marketing droids at Fox had just been smart enough to realize that the movie was aimed at women - not unlike most horror movies"
I still say that's questionable. And I freely admit that my own survey was unscientific. But the fact is that I've known more women to reject horror movies out of hand, and more men to be the first in line when the latest Saw comes out. (Heck, one girl who has a serious love of zombies said that she didn't like horror movies). I think the idea that somehow it's a no-brainer that horror is a genre with a mostly female audience is, well, pushing it. #jennifersbody
11/04/09
Does that mean my anecdotal, non-evidence based experiences nullify your own anecdotal, non-evidence based experiences?
Horray for mindlessly "proving" your point by asking your friends as opposed to using statistical samples and surveys. I think I'll trust actual data over your anecdotal rantings. #jennifersbody
11/04/09
11/04/09
I'm not completely surprised if it's true. I work at a bookstore and the readership of true crime books is definitely more female. My point was that 1) the statistics quoted in the article seemed a little inconclusive and 2) in any case, it's hardly common knowledge. Maybe marketing people sh0uld know better, but i don't know for sure. #jennifersbody
11/04/09
This may be my new favorite phrase.
11/04/09
Flesh gordon #jennifersbody
11/04/09
There's that old poster of Star Wars, with Luke standing on a little hill, muscular chest exposed, holding his light saber He-Man-style over his head, while Leia poses near his leg incredibly sexy looking with a slit in her dress all the way up to her waistline. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this never happened in Star Wars. Yet it's considered one of the most iconic images of all time in the franchise.
So Fox here, being a monster in a cheerleader outfit is technically MORE representative of this movie than one of the most iconic Star Wars images is to that movie.
I guess it would be better if the DVD cover was just a black and white text dissertation on the awkwardness of friendship between high school girls? #jennifersbody
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11/04/09
And I maintain it failed because it failed as a genre picture, not because of bad marketing. Teeth followed the genre rules better than this did. Not that a film budgeted at $16M that made $16M is that much of a failure.
11/04/09
11/04/09
I too am shocked to discover gambling in this establishment. #jennifersbody